


The Right Kind of Love

by Lexasyellowpellow



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Universe, Cuddling, F/F, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Possession, They all need therapy, chapter 2 is viola heavy, its really sweet but also really emotional, jamie is so understanding and so patient, soft but also a bit sad I’m sorry, they’re so in love, viola makes tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexasyellowpellow/pseuds/Lexasyellowpellow
Summary: The Lady has started to gain some of her features back and apparently the ability to communicate with Dani. Dani isn't sure how to feel about this. She starts to wonder if the Lady thinks she loves her. Jamie isn't thrilled with this development.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton & Viola Lloyd, Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 8
Kudos: 154





	1. You, Me, Us. Mine.

**Author's Note:**

> Dani awakens scared after an encounter with the Lady. Jamie tries to soothe her and they end up in another conversation about love and possession.

Dani bolted upright in bed breathing heavily. Her legs kicked wildly at the blankets and she could feel hot tears stinging her cheeks.

“Dani- Dani it’s alright. You’re alright, love. Baby, shhh it’s okay.” Jamie’s words were soothing but her voice had a twinge of alarm laced into it.

Even though Dani could hear Jamie’s voice, she couldn’t quite make out the words. It was as if she was hearing them from a great distance, like something heard under water. Dani squeezed her eyes shut tightly and shook her head, blonde hair spilling across her face. She sobbed softly and felt for her girlfriend who immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. Jamie let Dani cry until her breaths started to slow to a steady rhythm. She sat patiently holding Dani and stroking her hair gently with one hand while tracing nonsense patterns across her back with the other and willed her own heartbeat not to betray her own emotions.

Neither of the women was sure how much time had passed before finally Dani spoke, “It was her.”

A chill ran down Jamie’s spine and she hoped Dani couldn’t tell. She took a deep, steadying breath before replying, “The Lady? What did she do?”

Dani frowned and blinked suddenly realizing she couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. “I’m not sure. I saw her. And I felt her. It was like she was right here as close as you are, closer maybe. She spoke. She never spoke before. Jamie what if, if she’s getting stronger? If she can speak now she could take me over and-“

“No,” Jamie was crying now but she refused to let Dani talk like this, “She won’t, okay. We won’t let her. So she can talk, big deal. That doesn’t make her You. You’re still You and you’re still here with me.” Jamie wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her flannel nightshirt and pressed a gentle kiss to Dani’s forehead.

Dani forced a smile wanting badly to believe Jamie but unable to shake the feelings leftover from her encounter with the ghost. “She didn’t say much. Or if she did, I can’t remember. I think it was very hard for her to talk to me. I know it was probably a dream but it felt so real.”

“Poppins, with what we’ve been through I promise you don’t have to convince me, if you say it was real then it was real. Now, what did the ghost have to say that was so important as to wake us up at bloody 3 in the morning?”

Their eyes met and Dani felt her forced smile turn into a real one. Only Jamie could make a joke during something like this. “Jamie,” Dani nuzzled into Jamie’s neck, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent of her before trying again to describe the Lady’s message. “I don’t think it was easy, speaking, I mean. Her voice was...gravelly. Her face, it’s still blank, kind of, but there were like indents? Where her mouth and eyes and nose should be? And she looked a bit blurry. Or at least she was to me.” Dani scooted back a little to extract her head from the crook of Jamie’s neck and gaze at her trying to gauge her reaction.

Jamie smiled softly, her eyes meeting Dani’s. “Suppose her features may come back a bit, the longer she’s away from the lake.”

Dani chewed on her bottom lip. She supposed that could happen. Would the ghost be less dangerous with a face, with an identity, or would it make her even angrier? Dani wasn’t keen on finding out. “It was hard to hear her. Hard to understand her rather. But it was as if she was looking right at me, right into my eyes, deeper even.” Dani swallowed a knot of anxiety in her throat and winced at the sensation. “She said ‘mine. You, me...us. Mine’.” Dani decided to leave out that the ghost had also said she was hers. They were each other’s. The whole thing felt too much like a vow, much too intimate, it made Dani’s skin crawl.

“Well that’s shite,” Jamie said, a flash of anger crossing her face before she could regain her composure. “You’re no ones, Poppins, except your own. You’re certainly not hers.”

Dani surged forward connecting her lips with Jamie’s. She put all of her feelings into it and didn’t stop until she was dizzy for air. “I love you,” she breathed the words against Jamie’s lips and let her gaze meet Jamie’s.

Jamie’s eyes swirled with emotion, her countenance softened from her earlier anger. She looked at Dani like she almost couldn’t believe she was here with her. “I love you,” Jamie ghosted the words against Dani’s lips, tilting forward to close the gap between them again. She chuckled when she felt Dani’s tongue swipe across her lower lip and pressed harder against her, deepening the kiss. When they finally parted again, both women were breathing raggedly and their faces were flushed with a bright red hue.

Dani smiled brightly and nuzzled her nose against Jamie’s and pressed their foreheads together, staying like this for a beat and relishing in the feeling of safety she always had when she was with Jamie this way. “Thank you,” she murmured.

Jamie looked at her quizzically, “What for, Poppins?”

Dani thought back to their first real talk that night on the couch in Bly. It felt so long ago now and yet Dani could see it almost perfectly. “For never confusing love and ownership.”

Jamie closed her eyes allowing the memory to play in her mind and when she opened them again they were watery and threatening to spill over. She cleared her throat and gave Dani a shy smile, “Well, of course. They’re opposites really.”

Dani grew quiet, pensive. Finally she spoke, “I don’t think she gets that.”

“The Lady? Yea well I suppose not seeing as she’s possessing ya and all. Although I don’t think she loves anything, murderous twat she is.”

Dani shook her head unsure how to explain, “Me.” When Jamie looked confused, Dani sighed and tried again. “I think. Well I think She thinks-“

“You think she loves you?” Jamie cut in, incredulously, “Dani, she tried to kill you. Why would you think that?”

Dani sat up pulling her arms against her chest and trying to better remember her encounter with the Lady. “I invited her in. I didn’t realize exactly what that meant but still. I did it.”

Jamie fixed her gaze on the sheets, idly tugging at the fabric. She bit her lip, determined to let Dani explain while grappling against her own anger with the ghost.

When Jamie didn’t reply, Dani spoke again, “Jamie, she thinks I wanted this. I offered and she accepted. I feel her, usually just barely just underneath but sometimes she’s clearer. So angry, so quiet. Waiting. But also something else. She’s angry but she’s also...empty? Lonely, maybe? She’s so empty and filled up with all this rage. At first I couldn’t feel anything else but now...” Dani trailed off thinking back to her conversation with the Lady. _I am yours and you are mine. We are as one. You, me, Us_. She let out a sigh of frustration, “I don’t think she ever had the right kind of love. She’s been alone for centuries.”

“Well boo hoo for her.” Jamie frowned when she saw Dani’s hurt reaction. “I’m sorry, really, but I just don’t know how to empathize with a ghost that is trying to take ya away. She’s gonna take ya from me someday. You said it yourself. She’ll come and she’ll take you. You’ll lose yourself and I’ll -“ Jamie took a deep breath. “I don’t want to live without ya, Dani. I really don’t.”

Dani smiled a soft, understanding smile and pressed her lips to Jamie’s cheek. “One day at a time.”

Jamie’s features relaxed at the familiar phrase, “Right, Poppins. One day at a time.” She turned her head and placed a gentle kiss lightly to Dani’s lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get so upset. I know it must be loads harder for you.”

“Shhh, it’s okay. It is hard but every day we have together, every morning I can wake up and still be me, still feel you next to me, makes it worth it.” Dani blushed and rested her head against her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Jamie could no longer hold back her tears and she let her head drop to rest in Dani’s hair. They stayed like this for the rest of the morning, content to just hold each other the only sounds an occasional sob and soft soothing whispers.

Just beneath the surface of her own thoughts, Dani felt the Lady stir. She wasn’t always watching them, but she was now. _This is love_. She thought, hoping to make her understand. The Lady simply sat and stared at her not speaking before fading further into the recesses of Dani’s mind. Dani wasn’t sure what this meant, she’d never been able to influence the ghost before. She pulled Jamie tighter against her and smiled at the contented sighs her girlfriend released at the contact. Whatever it meant, Dani decided, it didn’t matter. She gazed lovingly at Jamie. This, right here, with her. This is what matters. This is love. 


	2. She Wakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viola is surprised to wake inside Dani's body. She decides to try again to make peace with her host and attempts to win Jamie over with a proper cup of tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was really going to be a one shot story, but I couldn't get Viola caring about Dani and Jamie out of my mind. Hope you enjoy!

Two weeks pass before the Lady speaks again. Long enough for Dani to wonder if she’d been wrong, if what she’d heard had been a dream after all. She found herself seeking out her reflection purposefully, something which she’d normally avoided at all costs, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the ghost. It was uncharacteristically still inside her, the Lady did not wake and she did not seem to be watching Dani. She wondered if speaking to her, if the Lady had in fact spoken, had drained all of the ghost’s energy away.

Dani got her answer late one evening after settling in to read a book while Jamie was in the shower. One minute she was reading a book and the next she was asleep, or something akin to being asleep. She could see her surroundings, but they were hazy. She felt a deep dread fall over her as she understood what this feeling was. _She’s tucked me away._ Dani thought, her mismatched eyes filled with horror at the realization. She struggled to move but felt as if she was deep in the murky waters of the lake and she soon gave up her attempts in favor of focusing her energy on watching through her own eyes to see what the ghost would do.

* * *

The first time Viola woke in Dani’s body she had not been attempting to tuck her away. She simply woke and went to walk like she always had. The strange thing was that this time her surroundings were different. This was decidedly not her bedroom, yet it also felt strangely familiar. She allowed her gaze to meet the mirror curiously and jumped a little in surprise as she was met with her host’s face instead of her own. She tilted her head to the side and hummed experimentally. “Interesting.” She spoke with her host’s voice, startling herself again. She wasn’t sure she much liked this. She missed the familiarity of her own body, of her room and her belongings, of her simple boring routine of waking and walking and resting. This felt too different, dangerous even. She also knew it would definitely make her tenuous relationship with her host even worse. She had been regaining little pieces of herself the longer she remained away from the manor. Her name had come first and with it small pieces of her features were returning, slower than she’d have liked, but returning all the same. She didn’t remember much about the time she spent within the lake or much from her life before. What she did remember was Dani.

She smiled fondly remembering the blonde haired woman, scared but strong, brave somehow against an impossible situation and offering herself to her without even a note of hesitation. She felt rather than saw the woman’s immense love for the child she gripped tightly to her chest and something about that love called to her. She remembered what that felt like, that all consuming love, the kind where you’d be willing to die to save another person. All she had felt for so long was anger, and suddenly she was standing knee deep in her lake feeling a thrum of something long forgotten, something she could only think of as love.

Viola was considerably confused when all of the thoughts of her host toward her afterward were dark and dismal. Dani seemed to absolutely detest her. Thought of her as a monster, some sort of beast lying in wait to devour her one day. She could not figure out why this hurt so much, she didn’t really know this woman after all and she had offered herself up all the same. No matter what she thought of her, the outcome was the same. Viola was free of her cold, murky prison as were the other souls trapped in her orbit. But the longer she spent sharing a body with Dani, because they were supposed to be sharing- that is what Dani had agreed to, the longer she started to feel hurt by the way Dani thought of her. She was especially hurt by the way the blasted gardener thought of her. A commoner like that, speaking so ill of her, it never would have happened when Viola was alive. But she realized she also didn’t like the idea of the woman who loved Dani so much, hating her. Because well, she was a part of Dani now wasn’t she?

It had been months before Viola had returned to herself enough to speak with her host. She struggled to convey her displeasure with how she was being treated. Tried desperately to explain that she wasn’t a beast, wasn’t some feral creature lurking in the dark to be feared. Explained that they were one, her and Dani, that they belonged to each other. She really felt it too, deep inside herself. Dani was hers, to protect or not, to love or not, to harm or not. But she was similarly Dani’s. After all, she was living within this woman, they were at the mercy of each other. But she could tell Dani didn’t see it this way. She had not responded favorably, had treated her like a nightmarish ghoul and not in any way like a partner. Viola decided not to tell Dani her name, felt like she hadn’t earned the right to know about her if she was just going to treat her like some monster. Instead she allowed a small admission, one she couldn’t help but try, “It’s us.” she’d said, over and over again like a prayer. But Dani had pushed her away, again, and Viola was too hurt to try to speak with her further that night.

She knew taking over Dani’s body would not gain her any trust, any love, any leverage at all in her situation with her host. And that’s why she truly had not meant to do it. Viola groaned with Dani’s voice, no longer surprised by the way it sounded and closed the book that Dani had been attempting to read. She placed it neatly on the nightstand, because she was not a barbarian, and she left the bed to explore a bit. She’d seen the apartment through Dani’s eyes, but it was always a bit fuzzy and far away. She found many things there that she did not quite understand, particularly once she was in the kitchen. _Refrigerator_. She heard and felt a tickle at the back of her, well Dani’s, head. “Ah so you are awake in there,” she spoke aloud, simply because she finally could. She felt Dani’s annoyance and the side of her mouth quirked into a smile. “I’d like to make some tea. But this stove doesn’t make any sense,” Viola admitted, a bit embarrassed. _Let me out._ “But I hear you’re not any good at making tea,” she shouldn’t tease but she can’t help it. It earns her a very perturbed sounding scoff from within her head. _The kettle has water already. Turn that dial there and when it whistles the water is hot enough. Tea bags are in that cupboard there._ She’s surprised to hear Dani telling her how to make tea instead of telling her to buzz off and something about it softens her. “Thank you.”

Viola is sitting at the small kitchen table with a cup of tea reveling in being able to finally taste something again after heaven only knows how many years when she hears the shuffle of footsteps from behind her. She’d set a mug of tea across from her for this very purpose and setting her own cup down, prepared herself for trying to win over the gardener. Being an Englishwoman herself, she knew the way to any woman’s heart was a good brew. Dani for the most part had been watching silently as this plan unfurled. She seemed curious, not entirely opposed, just curious. She was, to Viola’s dismay, still concerned that the ghost was going to try to hurt Jamie, but she also wasn’t sure how to reconcile the image of the ghost making tea for her with wanting to hurt her.

Jamie approached surprised to see Dani drinking tea. “Poppins, what-?” but she’s interrupted by Viola excitedly brandishing a mug at her.

“I made you tea.” When Jamie looks skeptical, she laughs, “It’s good this time. I promise.”

Jamie sighed. “You know, you say that every time and every time I try it and it’s no good but I keep trying it anyway.” She says it as she is taking the mug into her hands anyway and bringing it to her lips. Her eyes light up in shock when she tastes it and for the first time in her life, she does not spit the contents back into the cup. “Blimey. It’s perfect.” Her expression changes rapidly from delight to confusion and then to something bordering on recognition. She backs up abruptly from the table.

Viola smiled knowingly. “Glad to help. You don’t have to do that you know,” she’s gesturing to the way Jamie is still taking little steps backward to distance them.

“What have you done with Dani? If you’ve hurt her I swear I’ll-“

“You’ll what? You won’t hurt me, Jamie. You’d have to hurt her. And you won’t do that. So let’s not pretend shall we?” Viola stood and crossed to where Jamie stood now leaning against the kitchen island. “I don’t know how I ended up out here, but she’s fine. She’s right inside. She’d stop me if she wanted to.” She felt this more than she knew it for sure, but it seemed true and Dani’s voice in her head didn’t challenge her.

Jamie blinked rapidly unsure what to make of this new information. “Alright then. So…what is it you want?”

“Well, I’d prefer if you both would stop hating me and treating me like some filthy rabid dog that you’d like to put down.”

“Hah, well it’s nice to want things. I’d like if you weren’t living inside of my girlfriend but here we are.”

Viola was surprised to find herself laughing at this. Jamie’s wit really was a little charming, although also very irritating. “Can’t do anything about that. My own body is, well, I’m not sure where it is per say but I’d imagine it’s not exactly inhabitable.” She stops to debate whether she should say the next part before continuing, “And she did offer.”

Jamie bit her lip, regarding the ghost inside her lover incredulously, “She said that. After you appeared the other night. She said you believe she wanted you to join her.”

“If she didn’t, she probably shouldn’t have said the words,” Viola has turned her back to Jamie now, crossing her arms like a petulant child. “I thought we would be as one. We are one. Her and I. Us.”

It’s quiet for a bit and Viola is surprised when Jamie is the first to break the silence. “You care about her.” It’s not a question. Jamie found that it surprised her but not enough to question it.

Viola turned to face Jamie again, feeling smaller than she had since she was in fact a child. “And what if I do?”

Jamie’s features have softened and she looks almost sympathetic. “Curious beastie aren’t ya?”

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

“Haven’t anything else to call ya.” Jamie smiled and took another sip of tea as if having this conversation was completely normal.

Viola considered for a moment if she should keep her name to herself but felt so grateful that Jamie was speaking with her, bantering with her even, that she thought perhaps she had earned the right to know her. “It’s Viola.” She felt Dani rouse inside her at the name, realizing that Dani had not realized she’d remembered it. _Viola_ she heard Dani repeat and she felt a deep contentment at finally being addressed by her name instead of regarded as a nameless lurking monster.

Jamie looked just as surprised as Dani had sounded. “Didn’t realize you had a name. Or rather, didn’t realize you knew your name,” she admitted sheepishly, “Sorry beastie- er. Viola.”

Viola realized her smile was awkwardly large but she could not help her happiness at finally hearing her name, twice, from the only people on the planet who even knew she existed. A blush crept across her cheeks and she ducked her head shyly in a feeble attempt to hide it from Jamie. Jamie had decidedly seen it, but thankfully seemed to know better than to comment on it. “I care about you too you know,” Viola attempted, voice a bit quieter than before.

Jamie’s eyes widened. “Blimey. Bea- Viola. You realize that this is all really a bit much right? This whole…situation here. It’s a lot. I’m glad that you don’t seem to want to kill us of course, not sure if that’s going to be a permanent thing or you’re just taking some time off from wanting to kill us, but it’s going to be awhile before I can…well you’ve been one way to us for so long. It’s going to be awhile before I can see you any other way.”

Viola nodded, understanding but also deeply saddened that she could not it seems find her way to Jamie’s heart with just a good cup of tea. She shook her head and forced a smile, “It’s alright. This is a good start. At least you’re talking to me. That’s better than just talking about me like I’m not even here.”

Jamie frowned realizing suddenly that Viola had indeed been here the entire time and likely had heard the cruel things she and Dani had said about her. “I didn’t know. Really, I thought you were going to kill her. Maybe kill me even. You tried before.”

She’s frustrated the way she is every time one of them mentions her actions as the Lady in the Lake. “I wasn’t myself. I don’t even remember much of that. I know it’s not an excuse but I can’t even kill Dani anymore without killing myself- you realize that right? We are one. I don’t plan to kill us. So you can stop worrying.”

_You won’t take me?_

“Dani, no, why would I want to go back to that horrible lake?”

Jamie looked at her quizzically. “She’s speaking to me,” Viola explained as if it was completely ordinary.

_You care about us. Both of us?_

Viola sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ve been saying that for ages now, yes Dani. I care about you. Both of you. We are us. You love Jamie. Jamie loves you. I’m part of you. Why would I want to harm either of you?”

Jamie stood watching Viola and listening to her side of the conversation with disbelief. The words jumped out at her. The part of it that she wondered if Viola had realized Jamie had heard. _Jamie loves You. I’m part of You._ She had not thought of Viola this way before, mostly thought of her as a disease trying to take her beloved before her time. The way Viola talked about it sounded more like… “You love us,” it’s a whisper but Viola heard it and both Dani and Viola are silent now.

Dani remained silent, curious as well about Viola’s answer. _Well_.

Viola took a deep breath. “Maybe. It’s been a long time since I felt anything. Definitely a very long time since I felt love. I care about you both. I don’t want to harm either of you. I’d really like it if both of you could care about me, maybe like me even. Or at least not hate me. That would be a welcome start. I feel something, I don’t quite understand what it is. Protective? I feel protective of you. Of both of you.”

Jamie glanced down unable to sustain eye contact with the ghost who was speaking so brazenly with the voice of her girlfriend. “I guess, we can start there.”

_I don’t hate you. I did. I did hate you. So much. You did try to kill me. You tried to kill Flora. She was so little, so innocent and you tried. But…Clean slate, okay? I can try to set that stuff aside. Seeing as you say that wasn’t really the real you. We can start here, if that’s enough for you, Viola._

Viola sniffled and closed her eyes, answering in her mind, _Yes, Dani. That’s enough for me._

* * *

Dani felt queasy as she snapped back into her body. She yelped and fell forward into Jamie who caught her with ease. “Poppins?”

“Yes, yeah. It’s me, Jamie. It’s me.” Dani sighed and let her weight relax into her girlfriend’s arms. Her head pounded and there was an incessant buzzing in her ears. “I’m so tired.”

“Viola?” Jamie questioned.

Dani closed her eyes and searched for her, finding her absent. “Asleep.”

“You should be too.” Jamie smiled and scooped Dani up, she really was surprisingly strong for such a petite woman. Dani considered protesting, she really could walk herself to bed, but she found she didn’t really mind letting Jamie take care of her like this. Jamie gently placed Dani down onto their bed and tucked the covers around her. She slid into her side of the bed, shutting the lamp off before turning to the woman beside her. “I love you, Dani. Get some rest.”

Dani felt rather than heard Jamie’s words as she drifted off to sleep. No dreams would disturb her sleep tonight. A deep sense of peace set over Dani for the first time since she had left Bly. Her final thought before giving in completely to her exhaustion _Goodnight, Viola._ She saw the ghost within her smile in her own slumber, her features finally clear and visible on her face.


End file.
